belief

[cellio]

"Everything is in the hands of heaven except the fear of heaven." Rabbi Chanina bar Chama, commenting on Deuteronomy 10:12.

One of Dani's relatives asked me a question during our visit. He wanted to know how an intelligent, rational, analytical person can believe in God. This was not hostile but inquisitive, so I didn't blow him off, but I did tell him I didn't think he would find my answer satisfying. "Try me", he said.

I believe in God because I have observed things about the world, and had experiences, for which I have found no explanation that is more satisfying.

I cannot prove to you that God exists, nor am I inclined to try. When people tried such proofs on me they were ineffective. At some level belief in God isn't rational -- yet I, a rational person, believe. You might argue that what I think I see is all in my head, some complex psychological effect. That's fine; you're free to believe that. If that were true, and I called that effect "belief in God" instead of whatever you think it is, and it resulted in me having a more satisfying life, does it matter?

Belief in God has to be personal; it cannot be meaningfully imposed from without. That's a big part of what's wrong with some fundamentalists: they seek to compel. That trick never works; you can compel behavior but not belief.

Because belief in God has to be personal, I cannot offer a meaningful proof. Even if I share the specific effects I have seen (and I am not close enough to this relative to do so, which is why I thought he would find this unsatisfying), who's to say that what I see as significant will be significant to you?

I thought I was about the least-likely person on the planet to take a leap of faith. Yet, I did. And I landed on solid ground. That's not through my own doing, really; a lot of that had to do with being open to possibilities, being willing to look and listen and introspect.

He actually liked that answer, to my surprise. This then led to a discussion of the truth of torah, but I'll save that for another time.

Comments

[dr-zrfq.livejournal.com]

Your reply resonates very strongly with my own. May I borrow your wording (with appropriate credit) if I should find I have need of it?

Since grad school, I have held that belief in God is rather axiomatic: it's not something one can prove (in this world anyway), and differing values of belief in God can underlie more general belief systems that may be different, but *internally consistent* each by itself. And many of my friends have widely varying beliefs in The Divine. So I do like to discuss belief systems when I've time... both to better understand other people, and to further refine my own beliefs.

[cellio]

Thanks. Certainly you may borrow my wording if the occasion arises.

Discussions like this help me refine my thinking, too. Definitely helpful.